Twilight
by yue kato
Summary: 2x1. Yaoi. Pre A.C.195 - Heero meets a mysterious boy during his training mission.


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twilight

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yue kato 

110598

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present

He's pointing his gun at me.

He's going to shoot me.

Why?

Doesn't he remember?

"No!" The girl -- Relena -- shouts, and it echoes in my brain.

I realise it is my silent scream.

He pulls the trigger, and the bullet tearing through my flesh momentarily numbs the pain of my shattering heart.

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past

He tumbled off the bike as it was about to explode. A wave of heat swept over him as he hit the ground. As soon as the explosion died down, he quickly stood up and, ignoring the dirt and mud on his tank top, began to trudge away briskly from the fiery scene.

The bike had been a slight miscalculation. He would not repeat that mistake again. But that was secondary to the fact that he had already accomplished his trial mission. Dealing with out-of-turn situations was part of his routine. Now all he had to do was to return to base and receive his evaluation. 

As he jogged down the narrow trail, the artificially created rain of the space station started to drizzle softly upon him. The world narrowed down to his harsh breathing, and the splashes his feet made on the narrow road as they lifted and fell. 

Suddenly, blinding headlights flashing ahead of him brought him to a halt. It was too late to hide. The lights pinned him where he was. Then, they disappeared as abruptly as they had appeared. The starlight filtering down again allowed him to make out a rough terrain vehicle in front of him. There was no movement inside, but he sensed a presence.

After a while, the door opened, and somebody stepped out of the vehicle. From the dim light, he could make out a slender figure. And the stranger was observing him with equal intensity. How he knew that he could not explain. He just knew.

They stood there, until the gradually increasing rainfall prompted the stranger to speak. "Do you want a ride?" His voice was soft, but it carried across the still atmosphere created by the rain, enveloping him.

Then the stranger climbed back into the vehicle, and waited. He did not even hesitate. Some now-distant part of him screamed that this went against all the disciplines drilled into him, but this person compelled him in a way no other ever had. The moment he entered the vehicle, they continued down the road.

The enclosed space seemed to amplify everything within, while the engine noise seemed muffled, remote. The roaring silence was deafening to his ears and he could feel his own pounding heartbeat. He couldn't help himself, his head seemed to turn of its own accord and he practically devoured the stranger with his eyes.

He wasn't much older than himself. Slender, with hair in a thick braid spilling over his shoulder. Silver beads of water still clung to the strands, imbuing him with an ethereal beauty. He was dressed all in black, like some cleric he had once seen in a picture as part of his training.

For a long while, they remained like that. The stranger staring straight ahead, the boy gazing at him. Then, the stranger broke the tableau, turning his head and pinning him with an intense blue gaze.

"What's your name?" The voice floated into his ears.

"...Heero..."

The stranger's only response was a slight nod, and they settled once more into a tense silence. The stranger spoke no more, did not offer a destination, and Heero was reluctant to ask.

After a while, they stopped outside a dilapidated warehouse that had definitely seen better days. Now it appeared to have been converted into a cheap motel of sorts. The boy shut the engine, and the ensuing quiet was pierced only by the pattering of rain on the roof of the vehicle and their harsh breaths.

Then the boy got out and turned around, once, before heading towards the shelter of the motel's entrance. Hurriedly, Heero jumped down from the vehicle, and with quick strides, caught up with him just as he passed the threshold.

The dim light inside was sufficient for Heero to make out the man nodding off at the reception desk. But as they passed, he thought he glimsped a momentary sharpness in the man's eyes before he slouched down further in his seat.

The boy led Heero down a corridor, past many dorrs before finally stopping. Taking out a keycard, he deftly unlocked it and stepped back, gazing at Heero expectantly.

Somewhere deep inside, he should have paused, hesitated. But Heero cautiously stepped inside the room, reflexes automatically kicking in as he scanned the room warily for any potentail dangers. The dresser at the corner, the large bed in the middle of the room, a doorway that probably led to a bathroom...

There was a click as the door shut and locked itself. He was jerked out of his silent inspection as cool fingers brushed across his neck. He spun around, grabbed the slim hand that joined those fingers, and... and...?

He stood frozen as his own fist, clutched tightly around the other's, was brought towards smooth lips. His fingers loosened and the boy slipped out of his grasp. 

Only to return with soft warm whispers of breath down the back of his neck, his ears, his shoulders. Hands turned him around and he was engulfed by endless sapphire. He cupped the beautiful face and drew closer, closer, tasted those lips. Ambrosia...

Heero tried to deepen the kiss but instead, he was pushed backwards. The boy untied his braid and with a shove, sent the both of them tumbling amid the sheets, his hair cascading about the two of them.

Heero lightly fingered the silken strands, separating one from the others gently, like a chile who was in awe of some fantastic discovery that, if he were not careful, would vanish into thin air.

His reverie was broken as now-warm fingertips started brushing up and down his back. The boy's mouth returned to his with increased fervour, then left, sliding lower.

"Don't say anything," he whispered. "Don't say a word. Don't ruin everything." His words were like a hypnotic chant, enshrouding Heero from everything except the fingers emanating pleasure as they ran all over his body.

Heero stirred and stretched out his arm to bring his lover close. But where there was previously warm velvet, now there were only rough, cool sheets. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up, totally awake.

There was no one else in the room.

The only thing left was a folded piece of paper left on top of the dresser. He stared at it for a few seconds before abruptly scrambling off the bed dragging the sheets along with him.

He seized the note and sank to the floor amidst a puddle of bedding.

Heero,

Thank you... very, very much.

Forget about me. We never met.

Heero couldn't, or wouldn't, comprehend the words that floated in front of his eyes. He didn't seem to notice as the note fluttered from trembling fingers to come to rest upon the floor.

A terrible quiet descended upon the room, shrouding it in unnatural stillness.

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present

I have to get free. The mission has not yet been accomplished. It was a mistake to have gone after Relena Dorian. Now I have fallen into the trap set by Oz.

I rub my wrists against the cuffs restraining me to the laboratory table, focusing on the pain that shoots through me as I twist my arm. I must concentrate on the mission first. The most important thing is to retrieve my Gundam. Everything else comes after it.

Suddenly, there's a flash of darkness and he appears in front of me. Intense blue eyes.

It's him.

How could it not be?

I'm as sure of it as I'm sure of the pain and blood dripping from my arm. From a bullet he lodged in me.

"Hi, sorry for shooting you." It's the same. His voice hasn't changed. "But you could have told me the Gundam was yours." Slight reproach in its intonation, yet there is a hint of restrained laughter. "I'm Duo Maxwell, pilot of Shinigami."

He flicks the thick braid over his shoulder as he concentrates on breaking the cuffs. "Don't worry, man. We'll get you out of here in no time. By the way..." His voice drifts around me but I don't really hear the words. 

"...what's your name?"

His eyes meet mine and for a breathless moment, I think I see something, a memory. But the veil comes down, and they are only sparkling sapphires again. Bright, happy.

A little wild at the danger he's in.

Empty of all recognition.


End file.
